The national governing body for amateur boxing in Ireland made a statement after the Communities Minister announced he would oversee a new panel to ensure the full delivery of such equality reforms.
It comes after Gordon Lyons addressed the Assembly last week, referring to a report by the Equality Commission.
The commission’s investigation followed legal action from Protestant boxer Daryl Clarke, who claimed he was excluded from the 2022 Commonwealth Games due to discrimination related to his religious identity.
While the IABA acknowledged Mr Lyons’ “personal” views on the matter, the organisation rejected any suggestion of discrimination within the IABA or Ulster Boxing Council (UBC).
The IABA stressed that the commission’s report did not find evidence of discrimination, and both the IABA and UBC had fully engaged with the review process.
UBC paid the community youth worker a five-figure sum without admission of liability last year.
Last Tuesday, Mr Lyons apologised to Mr Clarke and others who have “faced discrimination”.
“There must be no going back. There must be no acceptance of the status quo,” he said during Question Time at Stormont. “Change is needed, change must be delivered and I will ensure that happens. There is too much at stake to do nothing.”
He also criticised the failure to implement many of the 2013 Duncan Morrow Independent Working Group recommendations on boxing governance, stating: “What happened in 2013 — this was left, and recommendations weren’t implemented so I hope I can bring the weight of the ministerial office to this process and make sure we get on with it and get it done.”
Following Mr Lyons’ comments, the IABA said: “This personal view is not supported by the findings of the Equality Commission’s report, nor in its recommendations.
“As the minister is aware, the Equality Commission’s report does not make any finding of discrimination.
“On that basis, the IABA strongly and unequivocally refutes any suggestion that discrimination on religious or community grounds has taken place within the IABA or Ulster Boxing Council.”
The statement added that both the IABA and UBC fully engaged with the commission’s review, which recommended improvements in governance, selection transparency, and communication. “The IABA is well advanced in working to implement those recommendations in partnership with Sport NI and the Department for Communities,” it continued.
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The IABA also welcomed the creation of an oversight panel to monitor progress.
Responding to references to the 2013 Duncan Morrow Report, the IABA noted that Sport NI formally signed off on the implementation of its recommendations in 2016, “following its governance and management audit, which recorded the majority as completed (green) and the remainder as in progress due to external dependencies”.
The IABA also said it remains “firmly committed to ensuring all athletes continue to be selected on merit, in line with transparent and published criteria; promoting equality of opportunity and good relations at every level of the sport; and Working collaboratively with the Equality Commission, Sport NI, Sport Ireland, and other partners to implement best practice governance standards”.
They welcomed the opportunity to “meet directly” and have “constructive engagement” with the Communities Minister.